Sometimes pictures are too cool to wait for Friday. My friend Tom K. sent these along for my enjoyment and now yours. The first is a close up of the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, where you can clearly the ring of blue eyes that around the mantle. They are weak but sufficient to detect predators. The second is the red-footed or pygmy sea cucumber, Pentacta pygmaea, common along the Gulf of Mexico.

Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.



Comments
That's an awesome closeup of the scallop!
Posted by: eric | August 5, 2008 6:26 PM
I'll never forget walking through a pile of bay scallops in shallow waters off Beaufort, North Carolina. The scallops were leaping 2-3 feet in the air. They must have seen us coming!
Posted by: Peter | August 5, 2008 8:34 PM
Note to self, look for scallops tomorrow!
Posted by: kevin z | August 5, 2008 9:34 PM
Note to KZ: Congrats on the job offer! Say hello to Drs. Crowder, Rittschoff, Read, Joe B, Mike Orbach. What a great place to be. Have fun!
Posted by: Peter | August 5, 2008 10:19 PM